The places in Split the guidebooks miss.
The places in Split the guidebooks miss. locals-only counters, after-hours rooms and the spots tourists walk past.
Villa Spiza in Split is the side-lane Dalmatian counter favoured by Spliters, with about 14 seats and a board that turns on the morning Pazar.
Why locals love it: A tiny counter-only room with a handwritten daily board in a side lane of Diocletian's Palace, easy to miss between the busy Riva-side terraces.
Tip: First sitting at 13:00; queue at the door for the second turn at 14:00.
Konoba Hvaranin on Ban Mladenova in Split is a small-room family konoba, with the local press in the back and gregada as the kitchen's signature.
Why locals love it: A tucked-away Veli Varos konoba where Split's writers and journalists drink Plavac mali, with shelves of books from regulars and seating capped near 20.
Tip: Booking is sensible; the dinner sitting goes first.
Konoba Matejuska in Split's Veli Varos cooks the day's market catch in a 19th-century UNESCO-listed stone house with a tight terrace tucked off the alley.
Why locals love it: A family room in a 19th-century stone house tucked into Tomica Stine; UNESCO-listed building, no signage to speak of, regulars-only feel.
Tip: Cash preferred; go for the 21:30 sitting after the first crowd has rotated.
Konoba Stare Grede in Split's Radunica area is a traditional Dalmatian tavern in a stone house, cooking pasticada, tuna steaks and fish soups for a mostly local crowd.
Why locals love it: An off-the-tourist-track stone house konoba a kilometre east of the Old Town on Domovinskog rata, with old beams, rustic benches and almost no signage.
Tip: Closed Sundays; pasticada can run out early so ask when you book.